I’m pretty confident in saying it’s the contractor as it appears the waterproofing is applied far too thinly as well. I have seen manufacturers send back batches of penny tiles but if he didn’t stop the install partway through he can’t see the problem.

It also looks like 50% offset in a tile that needed 33% what tile was it you wanted on the walls . The penny tile needs an tiler who understands that just because they come on a sheet does not mean they have to be installed sheet by sheet with no blending of the edge tiles . I will say black tile on a shower floor is a bad choice and what Hallet said about the waterproofing that is going to be a big issue

I originally wanted standard subway tiles which were 3 x 6. He said those were quite small for the space and recommended the 8 x 24.

Out of curiosity, why is black a bad choice for shower floors? This is my first remodel experience and I am trying to learn as much as possible.

I am also confused about the waterproofing. What are you referring to there and what issues will arise?

We are sitting down today to discuss progress and I want to be able to clearly speak my concerns.

If you google "installing penny tile" there are lots of articles on line showing how it

should be done correctly. Read up before you chat with him.

That’s great advice thank you.

Is it a kerdi floor? i see a square drain which is used in their shower base systems and i see bits of their orange too.

No, the tiler created a mud bed and then placed the tile on top of the mud bed.

We went with a very similar design in our main floor bathroom. I took the second picture because I was so pleased with the tile install after reading so many horror stories here. The lines are more visible in the photo than in real life. Grout hides a lot of sins I guess.
Listen to the people here on waterproofing - they know their stuff and this is a very big deal.
Personally I wouldn’t get too worried about anyone else’s opinions on your color selections. We gut reno’d two baths and added a new primary suite, and used matte black or charcoal tiles in each. It’s been about 6 months since we moved back in and the dark tiles look so much better and neater than the light colored tiles we had before.

Do you have pictures of how he waterproofed behind the tiles and on the floor?

Black tile for the shower floor is fine. I had it in my old house and it was not an issue.

I'm not sure if this is the waterproofing part, but this is what went up before tiling began:

A dark color tile on a shower floor will show issues more than others. No big deal if floor is built for draining properly and maintained properly. If you have hard water, soap scum, or cracked floor grout or a slope or low spot where water will sit and dry, it will be more noticeable as light color or the hard water or soap will contrast with the darker color.

That being said, best practices on maintaining your shower is to dry the shower after use. This will help keep the shower clean. Look at it this way, all water does not go down the drain. Some remains on the walls and floors. When the water evaporates, what is left behind are the minerals in the water, soap (particularly bar soap) and organics from us. Squeegee and toweling the shower clean helps maintaining the shower. Also, leaving the shower door open helps drying.

What is that brand of cement board on the shower walls? I've never seen it but then again, I'm not a tile person.

Having tile on top of green in 1 pic, and missing, with the red board and no tile in another pic, is really confusing.

The walls might be greenboard drywall. Which is prohibited from being used. If it were backwards Hydroban Board, the additional layer of what looks like ProvaMat on top of it would not be on top. (Frankenhack mixed with a vinyl liner, incorrectly.) But could just be some knockoff.

The orange board is hardee board from Lowes and the green is the waterproofing aqua defense. Is the aqua defense too thin? Should the contractor have applied more of it?

The grout will make it look better

So here’s a small section with grout. It does look better as many mentioned but now I am worried about lack of liquid waterproofing.

Here is the niche. I’m worried about using the penny tile and whether or not enough aqua guard or liquid waterproofing was used. My contractor said it’s fine and that they used to not use this stuff but part of the quote was this waterproofing so I would hope it’d be done correctly and I’m guessing this isn’t right…

Hardibacker with Hydrodefense should not mix (BADLY) with 2 other systems. 🤦🏽 That vinyl liner thrown in is the cherry on top. The whole thing is a mold sandwich waiting to happen. Seams are supposed to be taped. Etc. Which looks like hecdid. But then couldn’t resist adding more stuff.

.

??? Why so many different products, none installed per manufacturers instructions. The grout doesn’t fix the tile spacing on the floor…

I’m truly at a loss. When speaking with the contractor he says “everything is fine.” I let him know that I don’t think it looks good and he still insists that this is all okay and he has been doing bathrooms for 30 years.

Im no expert. This is my first major remodel. But just by looking at everything it seems off.

I’ve watched YouTube videos of similar tiles being installed or remodeled showers from start to finish. What I see in my bathroom does not match the steps taken elsewhere.

I truly have no idea what my next step should be…

I should add the reason this bathroom was completely gutted was because it was a poor DIY job from the gentleman I purchased the home from. After a few months living there it was clear that water was penetrating behind tiles and the sill or curb which was tiled was lifting up and there was clear indication of organic growth.

So, I wanted to just completely rip everything out (which we did) and address the organic growth.

It is of high importance to me that everything be installed properly to avoid water damage and organic growth like what happened before.

The Aquadefense doesn't look like he covered evenly. It should be one solid color (the color of the Aquadefense)

Also, NO PENNY TILE on the curb of the shower (I also wouldn't put penny tile in the niche)! You need to pick one solid piece of something to put on the curb (and also the bottom of the niche).

Have seen enough penny tile installations now that I know it will be problematic if not installed correctly and it often isn't, unfortunately. Penny tile requires meticulous attention to detail during installation. Some of the installers we work with are very reluctant to install it.

Thank you all for the advice. I hired a professional hoping for professional results. I verified references, checked licensing and insurance, and reviewed pictures of previous work. It all checked out.

Unfortunately this has been a hard but valuable lesson in doing research outside of purely aesthetic preferences.

Ask him what protocols of the TCNA handbook he followed in waterproofing the shower. Ask him to show you what he did in reference to the book.

^^^ exactly. There are industry standards and manufacturer installation instructions that should be followed. He seems to be the type who thinks that's all BS and just chucks the manuals out the window.